United States Senate (Washington, DC)
Russ Feingold
11 March 2008
document
Following is the opening statement of United States Senator Russ Feingold at the March 11, 2008 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing 'Evaluating U.S. Policy Options on the Horn of Africa' as prepared for delivery:
“Today’s hearing will address U.S policy toward arguably the most worrisome region on the African continent – the Horn of Africa. Since I visited that region just over a year ago, the situation has gone from bad to worse. Today’s hearing is an effort to examine the United States government’s policy towards the Horn – specifically Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia – and to assess what we’ve done right, what we’ve gotten wrong, and most importantly, what we need to do going forward to reconcile what appears to be – by most accounts – a failing policy in a very critical part of the world.
“This committee has sought to understand and address the escalating deterioration of security, political, and humanitarian conditions on the Horn that have been generated and exacerbated by more than two decades of instability. This is our third hearing in less than two years to try to inform and encourage a comprehensive U.S. strategy to address the Horn.
“Unfortunately, the problems we will hear about today are quite similar to those discussed at the previous hearings. And the deterioration on the Horn continues to pose a serious threat to regional and international security. We need to address this threat in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea - as in other countries in Africa – by working to end violence, promote democracy, defend human rights, reduce poverty, and improve security. But too often, these long-term goals have taken a backseat to more short-term and short-sighted priorities.
“I would like to say a word about why this hearing is so timely and important. There may be less than 10 months left in this Administration, but we must nonetheless develop a policy that can help reverse the declining trends in the Horn of Africa, both at the national level as well as regionally. We have no option but to reassess where we currently stand - given that the political crises in Ethiopia and Eritrea are escalating dramatically, the border situation between those two countries remains inflamed, and the bloody fighting in Somalia shows little sign of abating despite the recent appointment of a Prime Minister who appears to be saying many of the right things.
“The challenges we face on the Horn are not new, but in the post 9/11 world, how we deal with them presents new challenges that have, in my opinion, yet to be met. We have repeatedly discussed the need for a long-term comprehensive and coordinated U.S. government policy, that considers our strategic concerns, political dynamics, humanitarian concerns and – perhaps most critical - our national security interests - and applies our significant diplomatic, military, intelligence, and foreign assistance resources towards building a secure and stable Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, such a policy remains elusive. As we are likely to hear today, the problems in Somalia have a ripple effect across the Horn or are the end product of long-standing clashes between Ethiopia and Eritrea that benefit from the turmoil of a country with no functioning central government.
“In other parts of the world, we’ve seen what happens when decisions are made and executed without the benefit of a long-term, comprehensive strategy. We’ve seen what happens when the Administration’s counter-terrorism agenda dominates its bilateral relationships and poor governance and human rights abuses get a pass. Such actions undermine our own country’s credibility and end up contributing to instability.
“This hearing is intended to not only inform the legislative process here in the Senate, but also to continue to emphasize the need for a more interconnected and balanced approach to the Horn of Africa that addresses each country specifically while still recognizing the transnational challenges and national security implications. This part of the world is far too important for us to rely on narrow, feeble policies or half-hearted ad-hoc measures.”
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